Method of sorting trash for recycling of paper and  apparatus for sorting trash for paper recycling

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses can be configured to facilitate sorting of paper from garbage and/or single stream recycling and subsequently process that separated paper to remove the contaminants from the paper so that the paper is in an acceptable condition for recycling. In some embodiments, the apparatus and method may utilize at least one dryer device that is configured to heat the paper without combusting the paper to remove water from the paper. The dryer device can also be configured to mix the paper as it is dried while also removing particulate contaminants off of the paper to clean the thrown away paper sufficiently so that the paper is in a condition that is acceptable for recycling into a paper product (e.g. a cardboard box, paper plate, sheets of paper, etc.).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/464,536, filed on Feb. 28, 2017. The entirety of thisprovisional patent application is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present innovation relates to garbage handling, sorting of garbage,and devices used to sort garbage and recycle materials that are includedwithin garbage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Trash, which is also referred to as garbage, is often collected atresidential and commercial locations and subsequently sent to aprocessing plant. At the processing plant, the trash may be sorted fordisposal. Recycling materials collected for recycling may also becollected at residential and commercial locations and subsequently sentto a processing plant for sorting of the recyclable materials fordistribution of those materials for recycling. These recycling materialsare often stored prior to collection separately from other garbage sothat the collection of the recycling materials only has the recyclingmaterials mixed with each other without a significant presence ofgarbage.

Typically, processing plants that receive collected trash or garbage arenot configured to facilitate the sorting of trash so that paper productscan be separated from the trash and subsequently recycled. Typically,grime and other contaminants the paper is exposed to while with thetrash makes the paper unsuitable for recycling. Thus, paper mixed withinother garbage is often not recycled due to it being thrown away withother garbage (e.g. uneaten food, rotting produce, grimy materials,etc.). Such thrown away paper that is mixed with garbage can include,for example, paper napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper cups,cardboard, newspaper, office paper, and other types of paper productsthat may be thrown away into a general trash collection receptacle thatcollects other types of garbage for disposal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I determined that a new method and apparatus of sorting trash for paperrecycling was needed as I have determined that a significant amount ofthe paper thrown away and mixed with other garbage can be consideredgood recycling paper fiber that can be suitable for recycling if thatpaper can be suitably cleaned and dried. Embodiments of my new methodand apparatus can be configured to facilitate sorting of paper fromgarbage and subsequently processing that separated paper to remove thecontaminants from the paper so that the paper is in an acceptablecondition for subsequent recycling. In some embodiments, the apparatusand method may utilize at least one dryer device that is configured toheat the paper without combusting the paper to remove water from thepaper. The dryer device can also be configured to mix the paper as it isdried while also removing particulate contaminants off of the paper toclean the thrown away paper sufficiently so that the paper is in acondition that is acceptable for recycling into a paper product (e.g. acardboard box, paper plate, sheets of paper, etc.).

For instance, embodiments of an apparatus can be configured as a garbageprocessing apparatus that includes at least one sorter configured tosort paper from garbage fed to the sorter where the paper has a moisturecontent that is above a pre-selected threshold and at least one dryerconfigured to receive the paper sorted from the garbage to heat thepaper to reduce the moisture content of the paper to being at or belowthe pre-selected threshold.

In some embodiments, the apparatus can be configured as a garbageprocessing plant. Other embodiments of the apparatus can be configuredas another type of facility.

The dryer can be configured to do more than just heat the paper. Forinstance, the dryer can be configured clean the paper as the paper isheated therein. In some embodiments, the dryer can include at least onearm that is moveable within a chamber of the dryer to agitate the paperas it is heated.

The dryer can be heated via hot air passed into a chamber of the dryerin which the paper is fed. The hot air fed to the dryer can be hot airfrom at least one generator apparatus. The dryer can be connected to atleast one generator apparatus to receive exhaust gas from the generatorapparatus to heat the paper (e.g. exhaust from a combustor, etc.).

The pre-selected moisture threshold for the paper can be a moisturecontent value that meets a particular set of design criteria. Forinstance, the threshold can be a 20% moisture content measured on a drybasis or measured on a wet basis. As another example, the moisturecontent could be less than 20% such as an 18%, 15% or 12% moisturethreshold.

Embodiments of a method of sorting trash for recycling paper within thetrash can include separating paper from garbage and subsequently dryingthe paper so that a moisture content of the paper is below apre-selected threshold, the paper being cleaned as it is dried. Forinstance, embodiments of the method can be performed so that the dryingof the paper also removes contaminants adhered to the paper and/orabsorbed in the paper.

Embodiments of the method can also include other steps. For instance,the method can also include baling the paper after it is dried andapplying at least one magnetic field to the garbage to separate magneticmaterials for sorting and distribution of those materials. As anotherexample, embodiments of the method can also include at least one of:feeding exhaust gas from at least one plant process to the dryer for usein heating the paper for drying the paper, utilizing multiple screenseparators to separate the garbage and paper mixed therein intodifferent flows of garbage having different size ranges, removingplastic materials from the garbage with paper mixed therein, removingmetal materials from the garbage with the paper mixed therein,separating the paper from the garbage for feeding the separated paper toa dryer, and feeding the separated paper to the dryer.

In some embodiments of the method, the drying of the paper can beperformed via a dryer. For instance, the drying can be performed in adryer having at least one rotatable shaft connected to a plurality ofarms that move within a chamber of the dryer for agitating the paperwithin the chamber while the paper is heated for drying the paper. Someembodiments of the dryer can have a grate. The grate can have holesthrough which hot air passes into the chamber for heating the paper anddirt that is removed from the paper passes for exiting the chamber ofthe dryer.

The drying of the paper can be performed at a number of differenttemperatures or temperature ranges and at different pressures. Forinstance, the drying of the paper can be performed at a temperature thatis no greater than 400° F. (204.44° C.) and atmospheric pressure (e.g.one atmosphere, 14.7 psi, etc.). As another example, the drying of thepaper can be performed at a temperature that between 250° F.-400° F.(121.11° C.-204.44° C.). Of course, other temperature ranges could beused for the drying such as 120° C.-200° C. (+/−5° C.), 225° F.-375° F.,etc. The pressure at which the dryer operates for drying of the papercan also be other pressures. The selected pressure and temperatureoperational ranges can be selected for meeting a particular set ofdesign criteria while also being set to ensuring that the paper beingdried will not be heated so much that the paper will combust so thatburning of the paper can be avoided.

Other details, objects, and advantages of the apparatus for sortingtrash for paper recycling and methods of making and using the same willbecome apparent as the following description of certain exemplaryembodiments thereof proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of an apparatus for sorting trash for paperrecycling and methods of making and using the same are shown in thedrawings included herewith. It should be understood that like referencenumbers used in the drawings may identify like components.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a first exemplary embodiment of anapparatus for sorting trash for paper recycling.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of amethod for sorting trash for paper recycling. An optional step of thefirst exemplary embodiment of the method illustrated in FIG. 1 is shownin broken line.

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of a first exemplary paper dryer that canbe utilized in the first exemplary embodiment of the method and thefirst exemplary embodiment of the apparatus for sorting trash for paperrecycling.

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of the first exemplary paper dryer thatcan be utilized in the first exemplary embodiment of the method and thefirst exemplary embodiment of the apparatus for sorting trash for paperrecycling.

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of the first exemplary paper dryer thatcan be utilized in the first exemplary embodiment of the method and thefirst exemplary embodiment of the apparatus for sorting trash for paperrecycling.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of an apparatus for sorting trash for paper recycling 100and embodiments of methods of using such an apparatus 100 can beappreciated from FIGS. 1-5. In some embodiments, the apparatus 100 canbe configured as a processing plant or waste and recycling distributionfacility. The apparatus can be configured to receive waste materialscollected by garbage trucks from residential, industrial, and/orcommercial properties (e.g. residential homes, offices, factories, etc.)to sort the trash and distribute those waste materials for furtherprocessing and/or re-use. The apparatus 100 can also be configured toprocess curbside recyclables (e.g. single stream recycling materials)that may be received from a recyclables vehicle that collects recyclingmaterial from residential, industrial and/or commercial locations.

In some embodiments, the trash that is collected from garbagetransportation vehicles can be sent from a collection apparatus to a bagopener and/or size reducer assembly 101. This assembly can include afirst size reducer bin assembly 1 for collecting the residential wastethat has been received and a second size reducer bin assembly 3 forcollecting the commercial waste that has been received at the apparatus.Each size reducer bin assembly can be configured to open trash bags toliberate waste collected therein and contact the waste to reduce thesize of the waste. The size reducers may include at least one crushingmechanism, grinding mechanism, cutting mechanism, vibrating mechanism,and/or shredding mechanism that may contact the waste to cut open thetrash bags and contact the waste to reduce the size of the waste. Inother embodiments, the size reducers may utilize some other type ofcomminution mechanism or a comminution mechanism that includes acombination of at least two of a crushing mechanism, a grindingmechanism, a cutting mechanism, a vibrating mechanism, and/or ashredding mechanism.

After the waste material that has been collected is reduced in size to afirst size range, the material may be fed to size separation mechanisms6, which can be configured as screen separator devices such as trommelscreen devices, rotary screen devices, or other type of separatordevices that are configured to separate the materials fed as a feed flowof material therein so that the feed flow of material is separated intoat least one first output flow having a second size range (e.g. under 14inches (in.) in size, under 35.56 centimeters (cm) in size, under thanor equal to 14 in. under than or equal to 35.56 cm, etc.) and at leastone second output flow having a third size range that is larger than thesecond size range (greater than 14 in. greater than or equal to 14 in.,greater than 35.56 cm, greater than or equal to 35.56 cm, etc.).

For instance, the collected residential waste material may be reduced insize by the first size reducer bin assembly 1 and fed to a first screenseparator device 5 via a first feed conveyor assembly 2 a. The collectedcommercial waste material may be reduced in size by a second sizereducer assembly 3 and subsequently fed to a second screen separatedevice 7 via a second feed conveyor assembly 4 a. The smaller sizedmaterial that is within a second size range, such as a size range thatis less than 14 inches (35.56 cm) or equal to and under 14 inches (35.56cm), can be separated from the larger material that is within a thirdsize range that is greater than the second size range.

The larger material can be output from the larger openings of the firstand second screen separator devices 5 and 7 onto a large material sortline feed conveyor assembly 21 a for feeding the larger material withinthe third size range to a large material sort line 21 in which thelarger material can be sorted into different types of garbage forsubsequent processing. The large material sort line 21 can be configuredso that personnel may manually sort the larger trash. The personnel maywork in combination with other devices to facilitate sorting of thelarger material.

The smaller material in the second size range may be output from thebottom openings of the first and second screen separator devices 5 and 7for subsequent movement of the smaller material. For the first screenseparator device 5, which may receive the residential waste flow ofmaterial from the first size reducer bin assembly 1, the separatedsmaller waste material within the second size range may be transportedto a third separator device 13 via a third separator feed conveyorassembly 13 a. The third separator device 13 can be configured toseparate waste that is within the second size range fed therein into afirst output flow of separated waste material in a fourth size range(e.g. below 5 in. or equal to or under 5 in. in size, or equal to orunder 12.7 cm in size, below 12.7 cm in size, etc.) and a fifth sizerange (e.g. greater than or equal to 5 in. in size but less than orequal to 14 in. in size, greater than or equal to 12.7 cm in size,greater than or equal to 12.7 cm in size and less than or equal to 35.56cm in size, etc.). The larger material output from the third separatordevice 13 that is within the fifth size range can be fed to an opticalsorter 51 configured to sort material within a pre-selected size rangebetween the fifth size range and the third size range (e.g. greater than5 in. but less than 14 in., greater than or equal to 12.7 cm but lessthan or equal to 35.56 cm, etc.). The smaller material within the fourthsize range that is output from the third separator 13 can be conveyed toa paper sorter 31 via a paper sorter feed conveyer assembly 32 thatconveys material from the third separator device 13 to a paper sorter 31for separating paper from the non-paper material within the materialwithin the fourth size range that is output from the third separatordevice 13.

Prior to being conveyed to the paper sorter 31, the material within thefourth size range may be separated by size at least one more time viaanother separation mechanism of the third separator device 13 (e.g.trommel screen separator, air separator, etc.) so that the smallermaterial in the fourth size range is separated into material within asixth size range (e.g. less than 2 in., material less than 5.08 cm,material that is less than or equal to 2 in., material that is less thanor equal to 5.08 cm, etc.) and a seventh size range (greater than 2 in.,greater than 5.08 cm, greater than or equal to 5.08 cm and less than orequal to 12.7 cm, less than or equal to 5 in. but greater than or equalto 2 in., etc.). The material in the smallest sixth size range may beconsidered unrecyclable waste and transported for disposal to alandfill, incineration device, or other waste disposal process. Thematerial in the larger seventh size range, which can also be within thefourth size range, may be fed to a paper sorter 31.

The paper sorter 31 can be configured to utilize one or more sensors(e.g. at least one optical sensor such as at least one near-infrared(NIR) sensor, near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS) or other type of opticalsensor and/or other type of sensor) for the sorting of paper from othermaterials within the output flow of material within the fifth size rangeor the seventh size range output from the third separator device 13 sothat the paper within that flow of material is separated from thenon-paper materials within the flow of garbage passed through the thirdseparation device 13.

For the second screen separator device 7, which may receive thecommercial waste flow of material from the second size reducer binassembly 3, the separated smaller waste material within the second sizerange may be transported to a fourth separator device 9 that may beconfigured to separate waste that is within the second size range fedtherein into a first output flow of separated waste material in a fourthsize range (e.g. below 5 in. or equal to or under 5 in. in size, equalto or under 12.7 cm in size, or under 12.7 cm in size, etc.) and a fifthsize range (e.g. greater than or equal to 5 in. in size but less than orequal to 14 in. in size, greater than to 12.7 cm in size, greater than12.7 cm in size and less than 35.56 cm in size, greater than 12.7 cm insize, etc.). The fourth separator device 9 can be configured to includea first air separation mechanism 9 a or may be configured to includemultiple air separation mechanisms such as a first air separationmechanism 9 a and a second air separation mechanism 9 b that may bearranged in series to separate the material into the first output flowhaving the fourth size range and a second output flow in the fifth sizerange. The larger second output flow in the fifth size range can becollected from bottom openings of the first and second air separationmechanisms 9 a and 9 b through which the larger, heavier material mayhave fallen as it was passed through the first and second air separationmechanisms for depositing that material onto an optical sorter feedconveyor 9 c for feeding that material to the optical sorter 51configured to sort material within a pre-selected size range between thefifth size range and the third size range (e.g. greater than 5 in. butless than 14 in., greater than or equal to 12.7 cm but less than orequal to 35.56 cm, etc.). The material fed to the optical sorter 51 fromthe fourth separation device 9 may be mixed with the material fed to theoptical sorter 51 from the third separation device 13 prior to theoptical sorter 51 sorting the material.

The first output flow of the smaller material within the fourth sizerange that is output from fourth separation device 9 (e.g. an output ofthe last of the air separation mechanisms that may be arranged inseries, the output of the second air separation mechanism 9 b, etc.) canbe fed to a first paper sorter 31 a that is configured as a papersorting device 31. The first paper sorter 31 a can be configured toutilize one or more sensors (e.g. at least one optical sensor and/orother type of sensor) for the sorting of paper from other materialswithin the first output flow of material within the fourth size rangeoutput from the fourth separator device 9 so that the paper within thatflow of material is separated from the non-paper materials within theflow of garbage passed through the fourth separation device 9.

Prior to being conveyed to the paper sorter 31, the material within thefourth size range may be separated by size at least one more time viaanother separation mechanism of the fourth separation device 9 (e.g.trammel screen separator, another air separator, another stage in thesecond air separator 9 b, etc.) so that the smaller material in thefourth size range is separated into material within the sixth size range(e.g. less than 2 in., material less than 5.08 cm, less than or equal to2 in., less than or equal to 5.08 cm, etc.) and the seventh size range(greater than 2 in., greater than 5.08 cm, greater than or equal to 5.08cm and less than or equal to 12.7 cm, greater than or equal to 5 in. butgreater than 2 in., etc.). The material in the smallest sixth size rangemay be considered unrecyclable waste and transported for disposal to alandfill, incineration device, or other waste disposal process. Thematerial in the larger seventh size range (which can also be within thefourth size range) may be fed to a paper sorter 31.

The material fed to the optical sorter 51 can be sorted by the opticalsorter 51 so that paper-like materials such as film-type materials,sheet-shaped materials, and other materials detected as fitting within apre-defined profile that is considered to be material having apaper-like property may be fed to a paper sorter 31 for sorting papermaterials from non-paper materials within the flow of material fed tothe optical sorter 51. The non-paper like material may be separated fromthis flow of material via the optical sorter 51 for feeding to at leastone elliptical separator 61 for separating three dimensional (3D)materials like rigid plastics from two dimensional (2D) materials likepaper films or thin sheets of material (e.g. materials that have a verylow thickness (e.g. a low thickness at or below a pre-selected thresholdvalue) so that the material is classified as a 2D material as comparedto a 3D material like a bottle or container etc.). Paper within the 2Dmaterial may subsequently be sent to a paper sorter 31 to be separatedfrom the non-paper materials via the paper sorter 31 for sending to adryer 41 and any paper within the 3D materials may subsequently be sentto a paper sorter 31 for separating the paper material from thenon-paper materials via that paper sorter 31. The plastic materials maybe further processed to sort the different types of plastic for sortingand recycling of suitable plastics based on the type of plastic that isbeing separated from the trash for recycling of that plastic material.In some embodiments, the 3D plastic materials may be further sorted forrecycling based on plastic composition types while the 2D plasticmaterials that can be sorted for being sent to a customer who may burnthat material as an alternative fuel source. The 2D plastic material maybe sorted and shipped as is or sorted, shredded to a desired size range,and then shipped.

The heavy material can be transported to at least one wood sorter 71 forsorting wood material from other material. At least one wood sorterconveyor assembly may transport the material to the wood sorter 71.

The apparatus 100 can also include a drum feeder 17 that is configuredto receive recycling materials collected from residential and/orcommercial locations via at least one recycling materials transportvehicle. The recycling materials may be passed through a sort line 21 inwhich the recycling materials may be manually sorted for removing largematerials that are easily identifiable from the other materials withinthe recycling materials. The manually sorted materials that includecardboard, paper materials, and other smaller materials that may not beeasily sorted as a large material (e.g. material over 14 inches (35.56cm), etc.) can also be passed through a cardboard screening device 21 bso that cardboard is separated from other recycling materials fordistributing the cardboard for recycling distribution. Material that isbelow a pre-selected size range that is not easily manually sorted oridentified can be transported from the cardboard screening device 21 band/or the sort line 21 that sorted the recycling materials receivedfrom the drum feeder 17 to mix these materials with the garbage fed tothe first and second size reducer bin assemblies 1 and 3 of the bagopener and/or size reducer assembly 101. The recycling material may bedistributed evenly or in some other proportion to feed that material tothe first and second size reducer bin assemblies 1 and 3. The feeding ofthis recycling material to the first and second size reducer binassemblies 1 and 3 can mix the recycling materials with the garbage forsubsequent processing via the different separation devices and otherprocesses.

The paper that is mixed with the garbage can all be relatively wet orotherwise have contaminants that make that paper unsuitable forrecycling. Typically, the paper would be considered to have at least anunsuitable moisture content of well over 20% in addition to dirt orother contaminants being present on the paper (either adsorbed and/orabsorbed onto the paper). This is particularly true for material insmaller size ranges (e.g. material that is less than 5 inches or lessthan 12.7 cm in size). After the paper is separated from the garbage viathe use of the different separator devices 6 and paper sorters 31, thatpaper material can be fed to a dryer 41. Prior to being fed to the dryer41, the paper from different paper sorters 31 and/or size separationlines of the apparatus 100 may be mixed together and passed through atleast one size reduction mechanism that may be configured to cut orotherwise process the paper to within a pre-selected size range prior tobeing fed to the dryer 41. The paper fed to the dryer 41 maysubsequently be dried in the dryer until that moisture content of thepaper is below a pre-selected threshold, such as under 20% or at orunder 20%. The dryer can operate at a temperature during dryingoperations that is greater than ambient temperature but is also belowthe incineration temperature, or combustion temperature, of paper. Forexample, the dryer may heat the paper to no more than 400° F. (204.44°C.), less than 400° F. (204.44° C.) and greater than 100° F. (37.78°C.), or between 250° F. -400° F. (121.11° C. -204.44° C.) for apre-selected time period (e.g. a residence time of at least 30 minutes(mins), at least 60 mins, at least 120 mins, at least 300 mins, etc.)until the paper fed therein would be expected to be or is sensed to bevia at least one sensor under the pre-selected moisture threshold. Thesensing of the moisture content of the paper can be determined via atleast one sensor 86 within the chamber 41 c (e.g. as shown in brokenline in FIG. 4) and/or at least one sensor that may sense the watercontent (e.g. water vapor content) within an exhaust flow of gas of thedryer 41. Of course, other embodiments may utilize other types of papermoisture detection mechanisms.

While the paper is being heated in the dryer, it may also be movedwithin the dryer. The combination of the heating of the paper with themovement of the paper can result in the paper being cleaned ofcontaminants such as dirt, grime, etc. so that in addition to themoisture of the paper being reduced, contaminants are also removed fromthe paper. The dryer can be configured so that the contaminants that areremoved from the paper are moved out of the dryer via holes 48 in agrate 48 a the help define the chamber 41 c of the dryer during theoperation of the dryer. The holes can be sized so that paper is retainedin the chamber 41 c while the smaller contaminants separated from thepaper can pass through the holes 48 to exit the chamber 41 c as thepaper is moved within the chamber 41 c of the dryer 41. The cleaned anddried paper that is output from the dryer 41 can be suitable forrecycling. This paper may then be mixed with other cleaner paper sortedin the sort line 21 from the recycling materials received via the drumfeeder 17 for distribution to a paper product manufacturer for recyclingof that paper for use in forming a new paper product (e.g. cardboard,paper plates, paper sheets, construction paper, etc.). Depending on thepaper product manufacturer, the paper may be baled via a baler 81 priorto sending the paper to the paper product manufacturer.

The dryer 41 can be configured as a semi-batch or batch process dryer inwhich the paper fed therein is stored for a pre-selected time period,which may be referred to a residence time, for heating and moving withinthe dryer. The heated paper that is subsequently cleaned via the dryeroperation may then be removed from the dryer 41 prior to new papermaterial being fed into the dryer. In other embodiments, it iscontemplated that the dryer operation can be configured to be utilizablefor a continuous flow operation in which the dryer 41 is always heatedfor heating paper passed therethrough and the paper that is introducedinto one end of the dryer 41 is output from an opposite end of the dryer41 such that the paper being passed through the dryer 41 as it movestoward the outlet of the dryer for drying of the paper is within thedryer 41 for the pre-selected residence time.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, an exemplary embodiment of the dryer 41 caninclude an inlet 41 a through which paper material is fed into thedryer, an outlet 41 b through which dried paper is output from the dryer41, and an internal chamber 41 c within a housing 42 of the dryer thatdefines the space within the dryer 41 in which the paper is retained forheating (and drying) of the paper. The dryer 41 can also include atleast one rotatable shaft 44 that is positioned within the chamber 41 c.A plurality of arms 46, which may be structured as paddles, fins,agitator blades, vanes, or other type of mixing structure can beattached to the shaft 44 or be formed on the shaft 44 to extend from acentral elongated body of the shaft 44 within the chamber 41 c. Theshaft 44 may be rotated to move the arms 46 for agitating the paper 49inside the chamber 41 c. The motion of the paper may help facilitateconvection within the chamber to help improve the efficiency of the heattransfer within the dryer 41 for heating of the paper. The motion of thepaper driven by the rotating arms can also help knock dirt, grime, orother contaminants that may be adhered onto the paper off of the paperto clean the paper during drying operations. A portion of the structurethat at least helps to partially define the chamber 41 c (e.g. asidewall or floor or other structure that helps define the chamber 41 cof the dryer 41) can include or define a grate 48 a that has a pluralityof holes 48 that are in fluid communication with a conduit through whichheated air may pass into the chamber 41 c within the housing 42. Theheated air 41 d can be passed through the holes 48 of the grate 48 a andinto the chamber 41 c for heating the paper and facilitating motion ofthe paper within the dryer 41 (in combination with motion of the arms46). The dryer 41 can also include a control valve to control thepressure within the dryer 41 so that exhaust can be output from thedryer 41 during its operation as hotter air is passed into the dryer 41via the grate 48 a. The holes 48 of the grate 48 a can also permit grimeor dirt that may be knocked off the paper to fall out of the dryer 41via the holes 48 in the grate 48 a while the hot air is passed throughthose holes for heating the dryer 41 and/or when the hot air is nolonger being passed through the holes 48 of the grate 48 a. The holes 48can be sized to be small enough to retain the paper in the chamber 41 cwhile being large enough to permit the dirt and/or grime to pass out ofthe chamber via the holes 48. The dirt can exit out of the holes whilethe hot are is passed through the holes and/or when the hot air is notpassed through the holes 48 but while the chamber 41 c of the dryer 41is heated via the hot air that had been fed into the chamber 41 c. Forinstance, during heating of the paper, some grime or dirt may pass outof the chamber 41 c via the holes 48 in the grate 48 a as the hot airbeing sent through the holes and into the chamber 41 c can be fed at alow enough pressure into the chamber 41 c of the dryer 41 to permit thecontaminants to pass through the holes 48 of the grate 48 acountercurrent to the flow of the heated air into the chamber 41 c whilethe heated air is being passed through the holes and into the chamber 41c.

In some embodiments, the dryer may also be configured to continue torotate the arms 46 even after hot air is no longer being passed into thechamber 41 c for a pre-selected period of time to continue dryingoperations and/or to further agitate the paper to help facilitate theremoval of dirt, grime, or other contaminants that may have been adheredonto the paper so that these contaminants may continue to be passed outof the chamber 41 c via the holes 48 of the grate 48 a even after theheated air is no longer being fed into the chamber 41 c of the dryer 41.In some semi-batch or batch type operational arrangements, the dirt andgrime can be output by operations of the dryer 41 after the cleaned andheated paper is output from the dryer and before new dirty paper is fedinto the dryer via operation of the dryer or use of a dirt removalmechanism (e.g. application of a vacuum, fan or pump to the chamber 41 cto remove the dirt etc.).

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the dryer 41 can be configured to include anair heating device 43 such as a heat exchanger or a heater. For example,the heating device 43 can be a burner that may burn a fossil fuel (e.g.natural gas, coal, etc.). As another example, the heating device 43 maybe configured so that heat received from a hot fluid from at least oneother process of the apparatus 100 is passed through the heating device43 for transferring that heat to the air passing through the conduitprior to that heated air passing through the holes 48 of the grate 48 aand into the chamber 41 c. In some embodiments, the heating device 43may receive hot exhaust gas from at least one generator of the plant forheating air prior to feeding that air into the chamber 41 c. In otherembodiments, the heating device 43 may be configured as a direct contactheater that is configured to feed the hot exhaust gas from at least oneplant process into the chamber 41 c for heating the paper within thechamber 41 c.

In some embodiments, the hot exhaust gas fed to the dryer 41 can beexhaust gas from a generator apparatus 91 or other element of ananaerobic digestion process of the apparatus 100 that may be configuredto capture methane from waste organic material for combustion of thatmethane. The generator apparatus 91 can be configured to include acombustor that receives the methane from the organic waste digestionprocess or any other waste conversion process that generates waste heat(e.g. hot exhaust gas, hot exhaust fluid, etc.) to combust that methanefor heating water to form steam for driving one or more turbines topower at least one generator. The hot exhaust gases from the combustorthat exit a heat exchanger for heating steam that may be fed to aturbine can be output to the heating device 43 of the dryer via anexhaust gas conduit 93 connected between the generator apparatus 91 andthe dryer 41. In some embodiments, the heater device 43 can be withinthe housing 42 of the dryer. In other embodiments, the heater device 43may be in fluid communication with the housing 42 of the dryer forfeeding hot gas to the dryer for supplying hot gas to the dryer for usein heating the paper within the chamber 41 c via a dryer conduit 56connected to the exhaust gas conduit 93.

It should be understood that one or more valves, pumps, and/or fans canbe included within the one or more conduits connected between thegenerator apparatus 91 and the dryer 41 to facilitate the feeding of thehot exhaust gas to the dryer 41 at a pre-selected flow rate,temperature, and/or pressure. There may also be one or more sensors 86coupled to the one or more conduits for monitoring operations of theflow of exhaust gases and a controller connected to the valves, sensorsand other elements for controlling valve positions and pump or fanoperations so that the flow of heated gas fed to the dryer is controlledso that operations of the dryer occur within a set of pre-definedoperating parameters (e.g. temperature and pressure set points, etc.).

After the paper is heated within the dryer 41 for a pre-selected timeperiod and/or at least one sensor senses a condition that indicates thepaper heated in the dryer 41 has been dried so that its moisture contentis below a pre-selected moisture range (e.g. below 20% moisture content,at or below a 20% moisture content, etc.), the dryer may be stopped andthe paper may be output from the chamber 41 c via at least one outlet 41b. New paper that requires drying may then be fed into the dryer fordrying of that paper.

It should be appreciated that for batch or semi-batch dryer operations,the inlet 41 a and outlet 41 b of the dryer may be closed during dryingoperations. The inlet may be opened for feeding paper into the chamber41 c and the outlet 41 b may be opened for outputting the dried paperfrom the chamber 41 c. For dryers that may be configured for continuousoperations, it should be appreciated that the inlet and outlet may beopened during dryer operations and that paper that needs to be dried maybe fed into the dryer 41 as sufficiently dried and cleaned paper isoutput from the dryer 41.

It should be appreciated that other modifications of the method andapparatus for sorting trash for paper recycling may be made to meetdifferent sets of design criteria. For instance, embodiments of theapparatus 100 can include sorting and separation devices for sortingrelatively two-dimensional plastic materials (e.g. sheets and films)from three-dimensional materials (e.g. bottles, canisters, etc.). Thetwo-dimensional materials (e.g. the relatively flat or thin materialsthat are less than a pre-selected thickness) can be collected fordistribution and/or shredded for distribution to an end user as analternative fuel source. The three dimensional materials (e.g. theplastic materials that are greater than a pre-selected thickness), canbe further separated and sorted based on polymeric composition (e.g.polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, etc.) for further recycling(e.g. distributing to a plastic bottler or other plastic manufacturerwho may melt the solid polymeric material and subsequently reuse thematerial for forming a new plastic structure). As another example,embodiments of the apparatus 100 can include multiple different magneticseparator mechanisms that are configured to pass a magnetic fieldthrough a flow of trash for collecting ferromagnetic materials forseparation of those materials from the trash and sorting such materialsfor recycling of those materials. Embodiments of the apparatus 100 mayalso use one or more other sorter mechanisms for separating non-ferrousand ferrous metals, aluminum, and other types of material from thegarbage for sending those materials to other customers who may utilizethose waste materials such that the materials are recycled instead ofbeing deposited into a landfill. Wood or other materials may also besorted from the trash for distribution to another customer for re-use ofthat material so that the sorted and separated wood or other materialdoes not have to be deposited in a landfill.

As another example, it should be appreciated that embodiments of theapparatus 100 can utilize any number or arrangement of materialconveying devices for conveying materials between different units of theapparatus such as conveyors, conduits, or other types of materialtransport mechanisms. It is also contemplated that one or more transportvehicles (e.g. forklifts, trucks, etc.) may be used to haul materialswithin the plant from one device to another. For instance, paper may beoutput from the dryer 41 and put onto a bin for being transported viaforklift or other vehicle to a baler 81 for feeding the paper into thebaler 81 for baling of the paper. The baled paper may then be moved ontoa truck for delivery to a customer via use of pallets and forklifts orother vehicles.

As yet another example, it should be understood that embodiments of theapparatus 100 can be configured to utilize any number and type ofsensors that may be coupled to one or more controllers for controllingoperations of the apparatus and/or monitoring operations of theapparatus. Temperature sensors, pressure sensors, flow sensors, sizesensors, weight sensors, detectors, and other types of sensors may becommunicatively connected to one or more controllers for monitoringand/or controlling apparatus operations. Each controller can be anelectronic device (e.g. a computer device) that includes hardware. Thecontroller can have a processor communicatively connected tonon-transitory memory and at least one transceiver for communicationswith sensors to monitor operations of the apparatus and communicationswith elements of the apparatus to adjust operational parameters ofdifferent elements based on measured operational parameters(temperature, pressure, trash flow rate, a detected blockage, etc.). Thememory of the controller can have one or more programs stored thereonthat define a method of monitoring and/or controlling operations that isperformed by the controller when the processor runs the program. Thecontroller can also be communicatively connected to a work station foroutputting data to an operator to facilitate operator control of one ormore mechanisms of the apparatus 100.

As yet another example, it should be appreciated that differentoperational parameters for the apparatus 100 can be utilized than whatis explicitly mentioned herein. For instance, the size ranges discussedherein (e.g. the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth,the sixth, and the seventh size ranges) can be varied to meet aparticular set of design criteria. Any of these size ranges may beselected to be a suitable size range and need not be one of the specificexemplary size ranges for that size range that is identified explicitlyherein. As another example, the dryer 41 can operate at other residencetimes, temperatures, or other process parameters than those explicitlymentioned herein. For instance, the residence time and temperatureranges for the dryer 41 can be any suitable selected time andtemperature that may meet a desired set of design criteria. As yetanother example, the moisture content threshold can be based on a wetbasis measurement or a dry basis measurement and can be based on weightpercent or other type of content metric (e.g. molar, volumetric, etc.).As yet another example, the hot air fed to the dryer or used to dry thepaper in the dryer 41 can be a gas having any number of differentcompositions such as a gas that is heated air from the environmentexternal to the dryer, a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, a fluegas emitted from a combustor, a hot gaseous fluid output from agenerator apparatus 91, etc. Thus, while certain exemplary embodimentsof the apparatus for sorting trash for paper recycling and methods ofmaking and using the same have been shown and described above, it is tobe distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto butmay be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A garbage processing apparatus comprising: atleast one sorter configured to sort paper from garbage fed to thesorter, the paper having a moisture content that is above a pre-selectedthreshold; at least one dryer configured to receive the paper sortedfrom the garbage to heat the paper to reduce the moisture content of thepaper to being at or below the pre-selected threshold.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured as a garbage processingplant.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the dryer is configured toclean the paper as the paper is heated therein.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the dryer is comprised of at least one arm that ismoveable within a chamber of the dryer to agitate the paper as it isheated.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the dryer is connected toat least one generator apparatus to receive exhaust gas from thegenerator apparatus to heat the paper.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the pre-selected threshold is a 20% moisture content.
 7. Amethod of sorting trash for recycling paper within the trash comprising:separating paper from garbage; drying the paper so that a moisturecontent of the paper is below a pre-selected threshold, the paper beingcleaned as it is dried.
 8. The method of claim 7, comprising: baling thepaper after it is dried.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the drying ofthe paper also removes contaminants adhered to the paper and absorbed inthe paper.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the drying of the paperalso removes contaminants adhered to the paper.
 11. The method of claim7, wherein the drying of the paper also removes contaminants absorbed inthe paper.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the separating of thepaper from the garbage comprises: utilizing multiple screen separatorsto separate the garbage and paper mixed therein into different flows ofgarbage having different size ranges; removing plastic materials fromthe garbage with paper mixed therein; removing metal materials from thegarbage with the paper mixed therein; separating the paper from thegarbage for feeding the separated paper to a dryer; and feeding theseparated paper to the dryer.
 13. The method of claim 12, comprising:feeding exhaust gas from at least one plant process to the dryer for usein heating the paper for drying the paper.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the drying is performed in a dryer having at least one rotatableshaft connected to a plurality of arms that move within a chamber of thedryer for agitating the paper within the chamber while the paper isheated for drying the paper.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thedryer has a grate, the grate having holes through which hot air passesinto the chamber for heating the paper and dirt that is removed from thepaper passes for exiting the chamber of the dryer.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the drying of the paper is performed at a temperaturethat is no greater than 400° F.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein thedrying of the paper is performed at a temperature that between 250°F.-400° F.
 18. The method of claim 7, wherein the drying is performed ina dryer having at least one rotatable shaft connected to a plurality ofarms that move within a chamber of the dryer for agitating the paperwithin the chamber while the paper is heated for drying the paper. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein the dryer has a grate having holesthrough which hot air passes into the chamber for heating the paper anddirt that is removed from the paper passes for exiting the chamber ofthe dryer.
 20. The method of claim 10, wherein the drying of the paperis performed at a temperature that is between 250° F.-400° F.